Federal budget 2015: Boost for Great Barrier Reef at expense of Green Army

By Lisa Cox

Extra cash for the Great Barrier Reef will come at the expense of other environmental programs, including the Green Army.

Tuesday's budget followed through on a March announcement to spend an extra $100 million over four years on water quality and other measures as part of a "Reef Trust" set up to protect the reef.

The government has mounted a fierce international campaign as it tries to convince the 21 member nations of UNESCO's world heritage committee not to list the reef as officially in danger at talks in June.

But the extra money has been diverted from other environmental programs such as the Green Army, which employs young people to work on environmental projects in their communities.

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The army was one of the key planks of the climate policy the Coalition took to the 2013 election, along with its Direct Action fund to pay polluters to reduce emissions.

The scheme's funding will increase by $179 million to $704 million over the next four years, $73 million less than originally forecast.

The budget papers said the savings would go towards other government priorities, including the Reef Trust, but would be partially offset by an increase in income support payments.

The government still intends to fund the same number of Green Army projects by 2018, when it hopes to have 1500 Green Army teams working across the country.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the Green Army was a "genuine success story that is having positive impacts on the environment and the lives of participants", and the funding was a "boost" that would enable the government to expand the program.

"And just as we are looking after our land, we are also protecting our waters," he said. "We are doing more than any government before us to protect the iconic Great Barrier Reef."

Tuesday's budget brought no changes to the government's 2013-14 forecasts for Direct Action, with $1.5 billion allocated to projects for the next four years.

There was also new funding of $6.1 million to extend the Climate Change Authority's operations for the next two years.

The government had vowed to abolish the independent authority set up by Labor, but has been unable to find support in the Senate.

Last year, in order to pass the Direct Action legislation, it reached a deal with Palmer United Party to commission the authority to review Australia's climate policies and the new money will finance that inquiry.

Tuesday's budget papers show the government still plans to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which invests in clean energy projects.

There is no new money for the corporation, and its budget was prepared on the assumption that its operations will cease at the end of this year.

Likewise, renewable energy projects funded through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency have not been granted any extra funding.

The government intends to abolish the agency and said until it finds backing in the Senate, the agency's operations would be funded through a special budget appropriation granted last year.

The government said on Tuesday that savings to the green army budget were because the program had been over-budgeted initially and the projects cost less than first thought.

There is no reduction to the number of projects in the green army budget, despite the reduction in spending.